![]() ![]() Sweden indicated it would slow aid to the country, but Britain committed to an increase.īritish Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said humanitarian aid could rise by 10%. Other funding separately goes to security services and humanitarian aid. Germany suspended development aid to Afghanistan, estimated at 250 million euros ($294 million) for 2021. The rights of all Afghans must be defended.' 'There have been many hard-won advances in human rights over the past two decades. 'Such promises will need to be honored, and for the time being - again understandably, given past history - these declarations have been greeted with some skepticism,' he said. Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, noted the Taliban's vows but also gave voice to the fears of everyday Afghans, who worry the Islamists will not live up to their word. That crowd ended up outside of the airport in a nearby roundabout. Another left later with 125 people.īy late Tuesday, the Taliban entered the civilian half of the airport, firing into the air to drive out around 500 people there, said an Afghan official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to brief journalists. The German Foreign Ministry said a first German military transport plane landed in Kabul, but it took off with only seven people on board due to continued chaos. ![]() Embassy in Kabul, now operating from the airport, urged Americans to register online for evacuations but not come to the airport before being contacted. Still, there were indications that the situation remained tenuous. A British military cargo plane, headed to Kabul, took off from Dubai. Overnight, flight-tracking data showed a U.S. 'I see airplanes landing and taking off,' he wrote on Twitter. Stefano Pontecorvo, NATO's senior civilian representative to Afghanistan, posted video online Tuesday showing the runway empty with U.S. At least seven people died in chaos at the airport, U.S. In shocking scenes captured on video, some clung to a plane as it took off and then fell to their deaths. Meanwhile, Kabul's international airport, the only way out for many, reopened to military evacuation flights under the watch of American troops.Īll flights were suspended on Monday when thousands of people rushed the airport, desperate to leave the country. ![]() The Taliban has declared an 'amnesty' across the country today, urging people to return to their homes while vowing that government staff and women will be protected, and even invited to join the government. Germany and Canada have said they will take 30,000 refugees between them, and some in the US have warned 80,000 visas may need to be granted to all those they have promised sanctuary - such as translators and informants, who now live in fear of Taliban reprisals. Order seemed to have been restored on Tuesday after American troops secured the runway perimeter with barbed wire and Apache helicopters were brought in to drive civilians back - with people lining up to board rescue flights bound for Spain, France, India, the US and UK.Īt least 56,000 people need to be flown out of Afghanistan, including 22,000 using American special immigration visas and 4,000 Britons - though the true number is likely to be far higher once staff at dozens of embassies in the capital are taken into account. The horrifying scenes will likely become the defining image of America and NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan, a debacle that has seen President Biden accused of 'humiliating' his country on the world stage and western allies shamed for 'abandoning' Afghans who assisted their failed fight to install democracy in the country.Īt least five people died in the pandemonium at Kabul airport on Monday, including the men killed on board the jet and two armed Afghan men who were shot to death by US troops. More video taken from the ground at the airport shows three people falling to their deaths from one of the US planes - their bodies left scattered across rooftops in the Afghan capital. It is not known what became of the man who filmed the video or those who appeared in it, but horrifying footage taken on board a similar jet reveals how one was crushed to death in the landing gear - his legs dangling sickeningly from the side of the aircraft. The footage was captured by one of a dozen men who were seen clinging to wheel housing of an American C-17 military transport plane as it taxied towards the runway for a Freedom Flight back to the west. Riding atop the landing gear of an American evacuation jet as its engines roar overhead - this video reveals firsthand the lengths Afghan men desperately fleeing the Taliban take-over of their country were prepared to take as they stormed Kabul airport yesterday. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |